SITE OF SNAITH GAS WORKS 1847- 1958
OS Grid Reference SE645222 Lowgate Snaith ( Now GEORGE STREET)
In 1837, a group of men came together and formed a committee. They called themselves SNAITH GAS COMPANY and they were discussing the possibility of creating a Gas Works to supply gas lighting to streets, lanes, houses and buildings in Snaith.
Over the following few years they studied what was needed to produce and distribute gas. They contacted potential suppliers, found a suitable site and developed a plan to bring the project to fruition. By 1845 they had drawn up plans and specifications and they began to get quotations for how much it would cost.
The year of action was 1847.
3rd February A quotation for the construction of The Gas Works and installation of piping and lighting through the town was received from a local builder, The price was £1533 and ten shillings.
17th May An advert was published in several local newspapers asking for companies to tender for the contract to build the Gas Works and ancilliary construction. See a copy of the advert below.
13th June One of the Committee members, George Daniel, agreed to transfer ownership of a piece of land that he owned on Snaith Marsh, to the committee ( then known as Snaith Gas Light & Coke Co.)
The price of conveyance was £65.
5th August – SNAITH GAS COMPANY was registered to provide gas to the town of Snaith ( A two mile radius from Snaith Parish Church) There were six Directors and they agreed on 340 shares at a cost of £5 a share as a basis with a £1850 limit on capital.
The Chairman of Directors was Robert James Sergeantson (Vicar of Snaith), The Treasurer was Henry Eadon of The Lodge Snaith and The Secretary was Edward Elsdale Clark (Solicitor) The directors met on the first Monday of every month at The Downe Arms
23rd September The contract for construction was awarded to John Sykes ( Builder) and John Pilkington (Iron Founder). They were the ones that had submitted the original quotation in February.
9th October An advert appeared in the WANTED section of The Leeds Mercury newspaper.
WANTED A site Manager for SNAITH GAS WORKS. Application stating terms and respectable references to be made on or before 22nd October and sent to Mr William Hepworth.(Office Manager)
It would seem the gas works were completed and operational before the end of 1847. The works contained a variety of buildings/ structures, including: The Retort House, Refining Houses, Gasometer, Dry well, Tar well, Chimney, Coal Sheds, Cottage with two rooms, Office, Kitchen, Well for the cottage. There was also a boundary wall and entrance gates.
1848- February 18th 1848 A notice appeared in Doncaster, Nottingham and Lincoln Gazette. Inspectors had been appointed to ensure that an act of parliament passed several years earlier to ensure gas lighting was installed in towns, were having a meeting at The Plough Inn on 7th March to move things forward quickly and get gas lighting fully operational in the town.
The three inspectors were: Joseph Bowman, William Umpelby and Christopher Pocklington.
1849- January- William Hepworth was still the office manager
May 1923 A strip of land was purchased from Roderick Shearburn (Snaith Hall) to extend the Gas Works site on its western side.
September 1939 The manager of the Gas Works was Bertie Hunt, aged 53, living at the Gas Works cottage. Also living there was Kate Turner, aged 76 and incapacitated He also took in a child refugee as part of the government’s pre-war preparations.
1944 Snaith Gas Company Ltd ( formed 1943) took over the ownership and operation of Snaith Gas Works from the previous company, which was now in liquidation. They also acquired the assets of Rawcliffe and Rawcliffe Bridge New Gas and Coke Company Ltd which was also in liquidation. In May, the new company was renamed Rawcliffe, Snaith and District Gas Company Ltd.
A new manager was appointed. William Henry Naylor
In 1947, the site was very badly affected by flooding and Ernest Thornton, who grew up in Snaith, remembers standing with his father in what was then a farmyard, looking across the water at his Auntie Jane (wife of William Henry Naylor) who was stranded in the Gas Works cottage. Ernest’s father was busy trying to get provisions across to Jane, but he did have time to take the photo below.
Ernest describes the Gas Works as like a second home to him as he spent a lot of time there during his primary school years. He remembers the coal coming into the railway sidings and being stocked at the Gas Works. The coal was wheelbarrowed into the retort house and kept dry to fuel the retorts. When the burning process was completed, the red hot embers were discharged onto the concrete floor, using a heavy long metal rake and then sprayed with water to produce coke (a smokeless fuel). This was then wheeled out to a stock pile and was available for sale to the public.
Another bi-product of the gas production was tar, which was stored in a well, ready for sale.
Snaith Gas works was a very busy place and could be a very dangerous place. Smoke and unpleasant smells filled the air around the site on a regular basis. A Snaith blacksmith (Arnold Knowles) supplied and maintained a variety of tools for the Gas Works including shovels, rakes and wheelbarrows.
1949 With the nationalisation of the Gas Industry, Snaith Gas Works now became part of the Hull Group of the North Eastern Gas Board (NEGB)
1958 Gas production came to an end and the buildings associated with gas production were gradually dismantled. However, the site carried on as a Gas Holder Station, with gas produced in Selby and piped to Snaith, being held in two gas holders. The Selby Gas Works had been upgraded in 1923 & 1934 and extended in 1952.
William Henry Naylor oversaw the dismantling of the production facility and died in December 1966, aged 63.
With the introduction of natural gas in 1973, the two gas holders were removed between 1973 and 1976 and the site became a gas distribution centre which continues to this day, with a small fenced- off area sandwiched between modern houses.
ADVERT ASKING FOR TENDERS TO BUILD THE SNAITH GAS WORKS 17th May 1847
THE PIECE OF LAND THAT THE GROUP ACQUIRED 13th June 1847
THIS IS A CRUDE PLAN OF THE SITE EARLY 20th CENTURY.png)
A NORTH EASTERN GAS BOARD COMMER VAN - MARCH 1950
A REGULAR VISITOR TO SNAITH GAS WORKS
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If you want more information about the Gas Industry and how gas was produced CLICK THE LINK BELOW and then CLICK THE HISTORY OF GAS.
We have spoken to many local people who remember the Gas Works ib Snaith
Most memories are about the horrible smells that came from the works, particular the tar making department, but there are also stories of many adventures for young people, which today would be a Health & Safety nightmare.
Here are some fond memories from Ernest Thornton.